During the last ten years, partly due to spiking gas prices and intermittent energy shortages, there's been a bunch of research targeted towards developing new ways of generating energy. Solar power, wind power, and hydrogen fuel cells are only a few of the newer technologies that are expected to come into their own in the next decade. But before you rush out to put money into these newer energy sources, you ought to first take a look to see how you can save on your existing energy costs.
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1. Use economical light bulbs. Now you can find energy saving compact fluorescent bulbs in all shapes, colors, wattages, and sizes. Not only can they help save as much as 75% of your current light bulb energy costs, but since they burn at less intensity than incandescent bulbs, it's not uncommon for them to last as much as 10 times longer. When these light bulbs first came out, they were very expensive, but every year the price ranges come down more and more.
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2. Change your normal thermostats with automatic thermostats. Depending on the size of your heating area, you can save several hundred dollars of year by simply programming the thermostat to turn off your heat and air conditioning when you are not home. The prices of these have come down so much that you can get one with multiple day and hourly settings for under $100. You will normally recoup your cost in less than a year.
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3. Purchase some cavity wall padding and Insulate the walls with it. The typical homeowner would be amazed at the amount of heat that is loss through walls of their home. Much heat also escapes through ill fitting doors and un-insulated windows and doors. The heat loss estimates vary from 20% on the low end to as high as 70% or more.
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At the home center, you will find 3 primary kinds of wall insulation materials to choose among - polyurethane foam insulation, urea formaldehyde foam, and blown mineral fiber. Costs can vary contingent the part of the country where you live.
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Cavity wall insulation can easily be one of the most cost saving measures you can make to your home. The typical home-owner can cut their cost up to 35% and recover their cost within two years - possibly one. An additional advantage is that it typically helps to sound proof your home from outside noises and disturbances.
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In addition to cavity wall insulation, it is even useful to secure window cracks in windows, doors, and the base with caulk and other kinds of weather stripping.
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4. Put insulation in your loft or attic. All of us understand that heat rises. So it must be no surprise that in houses with lofts or attics, that's where a great deal of the heat loss has a tendency to take place. The quickest means to insulate your attic is to lay insulating products throughout the attic flooring, between the joists, and over the joists if they are visible. For finest results, make use of insulation product with an R-38 rating or higher.
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5. When your furnace or central heating boiler wears out, change it with a more energy efficient one. Possibly do this also if it is nearing the end of it's life span. Changing it with an energy reliable unit can pay for itself within 3 years. The most vital characteristic to look for is one with an AFUE (Annual Fuel Application Effectiveness) score of at the very least 85 %. The higher the AFUE rating the more fuel efficient the appliance is.
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These are merely a couple of the easy steps you can make to your home to improve your energy use and cut your energy expenses.
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The energy problem is not something that a solitary person can easily deal with by himself. But we can all do our part by taking smaller sized measures to reduce our individual energy consumption.
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You can find additional writing on solar energy such as solar hot water panel and solar pool heating systems at our website.
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